2024 Draft Thread - Part III

[tontoz]

I just hope Dawkins forces Atlanta to actually draft Sarr before giving up anything whatsoever to trade up for him.

Or just trade down. Someone might be willing to trade up to draft clingan.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

I just hope Dawkins forces Atlanta to actually draft Sarr before giving up anything whatsoever to trade up for him.

Yeah I don’t want to give up 26. The way this draft is, the player at 26 could end up being better than the player at 2.

[nate33]

Read on Twitter

Interesting.

I'm assuming here that Memphis' goal is to draft Clingan. It's probably irrelevant to us, but I can see a scenario where it's bad for us.

I figure Atlanta probably wants Clingan. They think #1 is too high to draft him so they are signaling to San Antonio that they want Risacher in the hopes that San Antonio will move up. San Antonio takes Risacher at #1, the Wizards take Sarr at #2, Houston takes Sheppard at #3 and Atlanta gets they guy they want, Clingan, at #4.

But Memphis throws a monkey wrench into the plan if they're willing to move up to #3. That means the Risacher Gambit won't work for Atlanta because if they move down to #4, Clingan won't be available. So that means Atlanta has to stay at #1. And at #1, even though they think Clingan helps them in the short term, they might feel pressure from fans to take the sexy high upside pick in Sarr.

[closg00]

My mind cannot accept the consensus mocking of Risacher as the #1 pick in this draft.

[nate33]

On the other hand, if Memphis really wants Clingan, and assuming Atlanta takes Sarr, maybe we can trade down to #7 with Memphis. I sure as hell wouldn't want Marcus Smart as the incentive to trade down, but I'd love their 2025 FRP.

[nate33]

My mind cannot accept the consensus mocking of Risacher as the #1 pick in this draft.

Both Wasserman and Givony are saying that Risacher tops the internal draft board of nearly every NBA team.

That doesn't mean it's true, but I figure at least some of the teams that are out of the lottery don't mind sharing their honest opinions about the top of the draft.

[NatP4]

My mind cannot accept the consensus mocking of Risacher as the #1 pick in this draft.

Both Wasserman and Givony are saying that Risacher tops the internal draft board of nearly every NBA team.

That doesn't mean it's true, but I figure at least some of the teams that are out of the lottery don't mind sharing their honest opinions about the top of the draft.

Givony said he asks team for their “mock top 5”. I think most every team expects Risacher to go #1, not necessarily that he’s #1 on their big boards, but it’s unclear at best.

Givony has been pushing Risacher propaganda all year.

[nate33]

My mind cannot accept the consensus mocking of Risacher as the #1 pick in this draft.

Both Wasserman and Givony are saying that Risacher tops the internal draft board of nearly every NBA team.

That doesn't mean it's true, but I figure at least some of the teams that are out of the lottery don't mind sharing their honest opinions about the top of the draft.

Givony said he asks team for their “mock top 5”. I think most every team expects Risacher to go #1, not necessarily that he’s #1 on their big boards, but it’s unclear at best.

Givony has been pushing Risacher propaganda all year.

Yeah, you have to wonder about these so-called "draft gurus". It's real easy for them to be corrupted so that they promote a specific player for personal gain. That could mean outright bribery, or something as simple as providing "access" to an agent for future benefit.

[closg00]

My mind cannot accept the consensus mocking of Risacher as the #1 pick in this draft.

Both Wasserman and Givony are saying that Risacher tops the internal draft board of nearly every NBA team.

That doesn't mean it's true, but I figure at least some of the teams that are out of the lottery don't mind sharing their honest opinions about the top of the draft.

Is this strictly an eyeball/film review conclusion?
Not that YODA is the definitive draft analyzer, but it’s interesting that Collier and Risacher are poorly ranked and they both have traded spots as the #1 prospect currently, Matas is another one who ranks poorly in Yoda, but is still a consensus Top-10 pick.
This draft is the craziest….trust nothing

[NatP4]

Castle not making consecutive 3s in a 30-40 minute time span is either a gross exaggeration, or extremely alarming and should drop him out of the lottery.

[gambitx777]

I just hope Dawkins forces Atlanta to actually draft Sarr before giving up anything whatsoever to trade up for him.

Or just trade down. Someone might be willing to trade up to draft clingan.

I think it's so important to take what fate gives you and don't just react how other want you too. If they take Sar let them take him. Trade back cuz at that point SA might jump or someone else might. There are good centers in this draft. Eddy fliposki a few other stand outs. No need to just go sar or bust and PG is a huge need. Hell force Atlanta to take Sar and maybe some one jumps with a trade offer for Zaccharie Risacher.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

[nate33]

My mind cannot accept the consensus mocking of Risacher as the #1 pick in this draft.

Both Wasserman and Givony are saying that Risacher tops the internal draft board of nearly every NBA team.

That doesn't mean it's true, but I figure at least some of the teams that are out of the lottery don't mind sharing their honest opinions about the top of the draft.

Is this strictly an eyeball/film review conclusion?
Not that YODA is the definitive draft analyzer, but it’s interesting that Collier and Risacher are poorly ranked and they both have traded spots as the #1 prospect currently, Matas is another one who ranks poorly in Yoda, but is still a consensus Top-10 pick.
This draft is the craziest….trust nothing

YODA isn't infallible. In fact, it's really not that great if used in a vacuum. Where it's really good is identifying when statistically exceptional players are being underrated by the "consensus". YODA has me intrigued with guys like KJ Simpson and Jamal Shead. But I'm not out on guys like Buzelis and Collier just because YODA doesn't like them.

[NatP4]

Does YODA adjust for differing leagues/level of competition?

[nate33]

Does YODA adjust for differing leagues/level of competition?

Yes. Exactly how he does it, and to what degree his adjustments are accurate, I couldn't tell you.

[The Consiglieri]

I just hope Dawkins forces Atlanta to actually draft Sarr before giving up anything whatsoever to trade up for him.

Givony has reported that Zac is #1 on every teams board right? Anyone else co-sign on that. That seems like an odd thing to state if you're actually not 100% sure that Risacher is #1 for practically all teams.

#1: when reports like that come out, they're almost always true (honestly, I nearly want to say, "always," true, but then I think about a handful of drafts over the years, where selections were a bit of a surprise, I think Anthony Bennett comes to mind, as a guy who became a surprise really late in the process (I can't remember if it was the final day or final week, but my fuzzy memory is that nobody thought Bennett was going 1.01, until the very last minute).

#2 Cosign 1000% on not giving the Hawks ANYTHING. If they take Sarr, fine. Whatever, I think the GM's realize that this rebuild project is more closer to half a decade than it is to 2 or 3 more years. Trading away picks like the pick (way too low) that we got for Gafford to move up one slot is something a team in our situation simply cannot do. Now would I move a 2nd, or a pair of 2nds? Probably. People freaking sell those. But would I trade the 26th pick, Kuzma, whatever? ---- no. I'm not giving them anything valuable. They can just take him and deal w/the problems that creates.

Sit tight and let them make the pick or a trade w/someone else.

What I think is going to happen:

#1: 75-80% they take Zac
#2: 10-15% they trade down
#3: 5-15% they take Sarr

[DCZards]

Castle must have some awesome skills and strengths if draftniks are down on his shooting yet most of them (including Givony and YODA) still have him ranked in the top 5.

If Givony wants video of Castle making consecutive shots he should check out the combine. Castle shot the ball well there.

[payitforward]

I’m beginning to fear we’re being played — all this Ris talk from Atlanta, all the putting out there of the fact that Sarr didn’t work out for Atl, that he prefers DC …

They’re going to take him.

I don’t know that; no one does. But I feel it.

Or rather, I fear it.

No. You are being played. What possible motivation would Atlanta have to try and convince the world they don't want Sarr, only to take him on draft day?

There are only 2 possibilities:

1. The rumors are true. They don't really want Sarr and Sarr doesn't really want to play there.
2. They want Sarr somewhat, but even more than that, they want to move down a little bit and add an extra asset. So they're signaling to San Antonio that they want Risacher.

If they really did want Sarr a lot, there would be no motivation to play games. They would just take him. Indeed, if they really felt Sarr was the best value, they would hype him up even more in the hopes that someone would come along with a godfather offer to move up to #1.

Hear hear. If they want Sarr they'll take him. Period. & if so perhaps we've got a trade-down deal worked out to cover that contingency. Or we are content to pick Sheppard.

[payitforward]

After seeing YODA's assessment of KJ Simpson, I took a good look.

Why is this guy mocked so low? He is awesome offensively with no weaknesses. He can catch-and-shoot and pull up off the dribble. He can get to the rim. He rebounds like a forward. He takes care of the ball. He is just 6'-0.5" in socks, but he has a pretty decent 6'-4.5" wingspan, exceptional lane agility, and a very good vertical leap. And he does this while being a burly 187 pounds. Like all small players, he'll be disadvantaged defensively, but at least he has the strength to keep from being pushed under the rim.

He had one of the best BPM's in college basketball, 8th best among non-seniors.

I'd be fine with him at #26. Or better yet, trade down with Portland, the #26 for their #34 and #40 and get KJ Simpson plus a guy like Kevin McCullar or Nikola Djurisic.

Agreed! I've had Simpson on my 'try hard to get' list all Spring. Looks to me like a guy who'll play a dozen productive years in the league.

[DCZards]

Count me in for Simpson as well. Had a chance to watch 3-4 of his late season games…and it seemed like he took over at the end of every game with his shooting, passing and penetration.

[closg00]

Castle must have some awesome skills and strengths if draftniks are down on his shooting yet most of them (including Givony and YODA) still have him ranked in the top 5.

If Givony wants video of Castle making consecutive shots he should check out the combine. Castle shot the ball well there.

Castle is another good example that makes you question what the heck goes into talent evaluation, the shooting chart posted earlier and Givony’s comments on his shooting are pretty devastating. Yet, Castle appears to be a winner and has the moxy that teams like.